Chapter 47 – Shattered
Percy was expecting the questions. He knew they would come eventually and he'd avoided them long enough. He was glad that the other demigods had leapt to his defence, he really was. But as soon as Poseidon had left they had turned expectantly towards him, making it more than clear that they knew something was wrong even if not what it was.
Percy pointedly ignored them, sinking back into his seat and picking at his waffles instead. "Please keep in mind I'm not currently wearing armour," Percy said flatly as he cut up a waffle. "And words can hurt." He glanced up, taking note of the silence before shrugging at them. "But sure, go ahead."
Annabeth opened her mouth, then hesitated and closed it again.
"Percy, we're just worried about you," Jason said instead. "There's a lot... well, we know that that Titan isn't the best of beings, and definitely not the best of mates."
Percy clenched his fist. "He's fine."
"But he's not," Hazel quietly said. "Percy, you have to see this-"
"He's fine," Percy angrily repeated. "Stop going on."
"Percy, he's not fine and you know it," Nico snapped at Percy. "You can't keep thinking he is. Everything he's done-"
"He's done nothing," Percy exclaimed, head jerking up and around towards Nico. "It's all my fault."
"It's not," Annabeth finally whispered. "That's Kronos talking. He managed to get into your head," the daughter of Athena said. "Percy, please think about it."
"I am," Percy snapped. "I have." He grabbed his plate, shaking his head. "None of you know," he growled under his breath. "None of you understand!"
"Then help us to understand," Piper pressed. "You refuse to say anything about it and then shout at us for not understanding."
Percy clenched his fists. "It's not that easy," he snapped. He felt as if the world was closing in on him, everything over the past few weeks was catching up to him and he just wanted to have some time to himself – was that too much to ask. "We've still got a job to do," Percy said flatly. "We've got to stop the Giants… and the Titans. We've got to stop them and save Olympus – we don't have time for this."
Jason' eyes furrowed. "We're thousands of feet above the ocean heading towards Athens," he pointed out. "If anything, we have the time for it now."
"Enough!" Surprisingly, it was Nico whom spoke up. "All of you, just – shut up." The son of Hades shook his head. "Look, think about what's happened from his side for a little," Nico said to them. "Percy's betrayed by his mate and captured, and who knows what happened there?" Percy clenched his fists, and Nico glanced towards him with a small smile. "Then, not only that, but he finds out his mate was pregnant and lost both of them in the same day? What in Hades do you all expect?"
Percy swallowed, turning his head away. "We need to get to Athens," he repeated.
"We're already moving full speed ahead," Leo grumbled. "I don't know what else you expect."
The son of Poseidon just groaned, leaning forward slightly and gripping at his hair. "I just want this over with," he whispered. He hadn't seen his mother in months and maybe he was being stupid, but he just wanted to plant face-down onto the couch and never move again. He couldn't see the point.
"We all do," Jason said, his tone firm. "And we will."
"I can't do this anymore," Percy murmured, his throat tight. "I'm not even seventeen yet," he groaned, his voice breaking slightly. He shouldn't have to worry about this – gods what would his mom say when she finds out what had happened lately? He'd be grounded for eternity.
Annabeth looked as if she wanted to reach out to him, but stopped herself. She swallowed. "You're not," she agreed. "But you're not alone either, Percy."
Jason nodded in agreement. "We're all here," he promised. "Yeah, things have sucked lately, but you don't have to deal with it all alone. We're a team, bro. We've gotta work together."
"And after," Nico added, looking slightly pained. "We could always help you hunt Kronos down."
Percy's eyes furrowed slightly, and he glanced towards Nico. "You're serious?" He asked in bewilderment.
"I… if you want to," Nico added. "Maybe we'll find him, maybe we won't."
Hyperion would no doubt get in their way, and Percy was certainly expecting other Titans to do the same, but he shook his head slightly. "There's no point thinking about it now," he finally said, wanting to put aside the conversation for another day. "But… once this is over – maybe we can think about it." A loud thump from above them made him freeze, questioningly turning his gaze towards the direction onto the deck. "Are we expecting company? Maybe another god or two?"
Jason reached into his pocket and took out his gladius as he stood. "Not exactly," he said.
Percy nodded. "I was afraid of that," he muttered, reaching for Riptide and following Jason onto the deck with the other demigods prepared behind them. Of all of them, Jason was best suited for taking point as long as the Argo II remained in the sky so Percy certainly wasn't about to complain.
Jason paused at the top of the stairs, the point of his gladius lowering. "Reyna?" He asked in sharp surprise.
"Reyna?" Percy echoed, completely bewildered. "What in Hades' name is Reyna doing here?" He demanded.
"The Roman?"
Percy glanced back, eyes furrowing slightly. "Yeah, obviously. You know any other Reyna?" He shook his head, emerging out onto the deck and sighing. "Ah, damn," Percy murmured when he saw the cause of the odd sound they'd heard from below decks. Reyna's Pegasus, Scipio, didn't even twitch his ears in response to Percy's voice, his breathing shallow as blood wept from various gashes.
"I'm sorry, Reyna," Jason murmured.
Percy's jaw clenched as he watched Scipio dissolve, dust caught up by the wind and taken away. Reyna tightened her fist, staring down at the deck beneath her before taking a shaky breath. She made a movement to wipe at her eyes until noticing the blood and grime on her hands and instead simply rose to her feet, standing tall despite bloodshot eyes. Reyna took a deep breath. "I need the Athena Parthenos."
Leo immediately nodded. "Yeah, sure. Please take it. I don't like it in the stables, she gives me the creeps."
"Leo," Annabeth hissed, looking aghast at the suggestion. "We might need it ourselves," she said to Reyna.
Reyna simply shook her head, matted and bloodied braid whipping from side to side. "No. We're going to need it at Half-Blood Hill," she explained. "Before us Romans and you Greeks are at war with each other."
"I thought we already were?" Frank asked, eyes furrowing.
"Not yet," Reyna said. "But it's likely to be soon at the rate Octavian is stirring up the Legion."
"Then do something about him," Percy said flatly. "I don't know – throw him in a river or something, isn't that what you Romans?"
Reyna eyed him, looking remotely bewildered with his suggestion as she glanced towards Annabeth, raising an eyebrow. Annabeth shook her head slightly and Percy pretended he hadn't seen the exchange between them. Reyna finally sighed. "Not for years, though it might solve the problem. But Octavian is bringing back some Legionnaires whom had been exiled from the Legion and are loyal to him and only him. Now if I attempt to do anything against him I fear an uprising in the Legion."
Jason ground his teeth. "That slimy-"
"But," Reyna said pointedly over Jason's words, making it more than clear regarding what she felt about her former fellow Praetor's actions lately. "A Roman returning the Athena Parthenos to the Greek will stop a war before it begins. And then maybe we can all join forces against Gaea."
"It's not just Gaea to worry about," Percy said. "I think the Titans are moving their army too."
"They've splintered," Annabeth sharply said to Percy. "You said that yourself… the Titans and Giants fought not long ago."
Percy nodded. "Yeah. But… he isn't stupid." Kronos wasn't at least. The other Titans just followed his lead. "The Giants are still going to rise, they're still going to assault the roots in Athens, and the gods are still going to try to stop them." Percy took a deep breath. "And he is tenacious. He's subtle. And he knows this. Think about it. He knows all of the gods will be in Athens, he knows they're going to be focusing on what seems to be the more immediate threat…" Percy's eyes landed on Annabeth. "If you were the Titan Lord… what would you do under the circumstances?"
All of the blood drained from Annabeth's face, and she wasn't the only one. The other demigods all came to the same realisation. "Olympus," Annabeth said, her tone hard.
"It's undefended," Percy agreed. "It's undefended, and us demigods are all fighting between ourselves while the Titans still have their entire army."
Percy's jaw tightened, letting his words sink in before he raised his head, eyes as cold as the ocean's depths. "They're heading for Olympus as we speak."
Unbelievably, the absence of the Athena Parthenos seemed to invite more monsters to attack the Argo II. Nico had volunteered to take it and Reyna back across the Mediterranean to Camp Half-Blood with Coach Hedge, hoping to beat the Titans there. Fortunately, Percy guessed it would take time for the Titan army to find their way from Greece to New York since the Titans didn't strike him as the kind to bother with ferrying their army back themselves. No, Percy figured that Kronos was probably lying low with his brothers and licking his wounds in preparation for their assault.
But first they had to deal with the Giants. They were the closest threat, and Percy couldn't be everywhere at once – he wasn't a god. He had to ignore the Titans for now, though he honestly just wanted to forget about them forever.
It was days later that Greece finally came into view. Percy leant on the guard rail, watching the sun reflect off the houses in the city of Piraeus. "What's the plan then?" He quietly asked, sensing Annabeth come up behind him.
The daughter of Athena seemed amazed as she set her eyes on Greece in the distance, though Percy imagined that she'd hope to visit when they weren't at war and likely to destroy the most important city in Greece to the mythological world. Storm clouds loomed overhead, though whether they were Zeus', Porphyrion's or simply nature at work Percy didn't know.
"We can't set down, and we can't hover too close," Annabeth said. "Likelihood of the trireme being struck is too high."
"On foot then," Percy murmured, despite that being one of the last things they should do with Gaea on the prowl.
"If we get to Athens… from there we should be able to walk from the outskirts."
"Isn't Athens massive?" Percy asked.
Annabeth nodded, pressing her lips together. "Yes… but we need to be subtle."
"She'll know," Percy said, even as the sunlight suddenly reflected in their eyes from the ground. "What in Hades?" He covered his eyes, grimacing. "Is that Apollo?"
"No," Annabeth said, expression grim and Percy cracked an eye open to see the light was gone, before it reappeared abruptly. "Someone's flashing us."
"Guess being subtle isn't looking very likely," Percy muttered. "Hey, Jason!" He called to the other demigod, already preparing to throw himself over the rails. "I'm going to check this out. You want to join?"
Jason seemed confused for a moment, at least until Percy vaulted over the rails and hung on with a grin, staring down at the port far beneath them. The son of Jupiter returned the grin and nodded. "Sure," he agreed, jumping over the rail himself much to Piper's disbelief. Percy let go of the railing, letting himself drop down into the ocean, but he caught sight of Frank quickly following after them and transforming into an eagle to follow the two cousins down.
Percy startled a tourist when he burst out of the ocean and onto the harbour, finding Jason and Frank both already waiting for him.
"Who do you think flashed us?" Frank asked, eying the surrounding tourists as if they were about to turn around and try to skewer him.
"Not here," Percy said, scanning the harbour for anyone whom looked suspicious. Though he saw no one whom looked as if they were obviously from Ancient Greece, so Percy nodded towards the harbour exit. "Let's try further into the city."
"It looked like a mirror," Jason muttered. "Shining the sun back into us. I'd guess a sword blade."
Percy nodded. "That's what I thought," he agreed. "Obviously someone set up a welcome party for us."
"This way," Jason suggested, nodding down the street. "Chances are they'll find us before we find them."
The sheer number of cars and people walking the streets took Percy aback after so long in a small group with only the other demigods for company. And then there was his captivity at Kronos' hands to consider. His jaw clenched as they worked their way through the throng of mortals, a nervous flutter in his stomach which could have been a warning or his nerves.
"We're being watched," Frank said finally.
"Yeah," Percy agreed, scanning the mortals briefly until his gaze landed on two simply staring at them across the street. "There," he said. The two nodded in unison to Percy – in the same creepy way the Stolls often do – before turning and walking down the street. Percy noted the sword each of them carried, and the armour they wore. "They're making it a little obvious," he muttered. It was odd. They seemed vaguely familiar, in a way – which wouldn't surprise Percy since most everyone descended from the gods was related in some way. From their size and lack of dragon feet Percy assumed they weren't monsters or Giants, but he couldn't be sure.
"Very obvious," Jason said, looking somewhat concerned. "Am I the only one or do they look familiar to you?"
"No," Percy said, "they do. Very familiar." It was when he looked back at Json he realised why. "Zeus," he breathed.
Jason's eyes furrowed. "What?"
"They have your eyes," Percy said, turning to narrow his own at their backs. "They're Zeus' kids. Or Jupiter's. Whoever it is."
"Thalia and I are the only children of Zeus and Jupiter," Jason said, his voice low.
"Not anymore."
Frank shook his head. "How?"
The duo had stopped where the street opened out, and Percy sighed when he noticed the sudden lack of mortals. "Great," he muttered, uncapping Riptide. "I'm sorry," Percy called to them across the street, "I don't think I've had the displeasure of meeting you two before?"
The two smiled. "Castor and Pollux," they said once again in unison.
Percy initially thought to the twin sons of Dionysus he knew, before realising he was meeting their namesakes – the twins whom had different fathers. Their namesakes who should have been in the stars. If they ever did reach Olympus before the Titans tore it into pieces, Percy was going to hunt down Krios and kill him personally. "I'm really starting to hate meeting people whom should be dead."
One of them, though which one Percy didn't have a clue, opened his mouth. "It's interesting… if everything had gone to plan you would be dead right about now, Perseus."
Percy's eye twitched. "Don't call me that," he muttered. His fingers tightened around Riptide.
"Why did you flash us?" Jason demanded, his own gladius in hand.
"To get you down here, obviously," the other one said.
"Yes, I may be Jupiter's bastard children but Gaea makes us strong on the ground."
"Of course," Percy grumbled, raising Riptide as the Dioscuri unsheathed their own swords. "I'm starting to get really tired of this."
"Blame Kronos," they replied in unison. "He's the Mastermind behind all of this."
"We've figured that out," Jason said curtly, his eyes zeroing in on the twin with electricity crackling up and down his sword - Pollux.
The twins charged them, swords ready only to meet several quick arrows fired from Frank. Pollux shot them from the air with accurate sparks of electricity before meeting Jason as Percy clashed with Castor. Even Percy knew to avoid the demigod son of Jupiter with the lightning sword – as a son of Poseidon electricity had already proven to be a horrible experience for him.
Percy batted Castor's sword away, lunging forward and barely missing his side as he danced away. Castor was obviously not the best swordsman, perhaps since he wasn't a demigod and didn't have the natural instincts that Percy did. But the street shifting, cracking and turning to quicksand beneath Percy's feet certainly helped to even the fight out. Percy yelped as a fissure opened up between his feet, leaping aside and hurriedly blocking a slash from Castor.
"That's cheating," Percy growled at him.
Castor merely smiled smugly and Percy jerked back as he felt the street creep up to snag onto his ankle. The mortal circled around him, and Percy struggled to keep him in his line of sight until an arrow nearly smacked Castor in the face. He swore and shifted with unnatural speed, turning his head so the arrow whistled by harmlessly to bury itself into a shop's sign.
"Thanks," Percy gasped to Frank as Castor was driven back. Percy shattered the earth's grip with the hilt of Riptide, bolting after Castor.
Percy was starting to get angry with him.
Here he was, unable to beat a mortal when he was the son of Poseidon. More than that, he'd managed to mate with Kronos – despite how well that had turned out – and was a camp leader. Everything that he'd done, fought gods and Titans, and this mortal was able to bring him to a standstill.
It made Percy's blood boil.
Percy had been through enough lately that he felt as if he were stuck under the sky again, everything crowding around him and the pace of everything that had happened left him breathless, unable to think. But when the edge of Castor's blade flashed by dangerously close to his face, Percy realised he needed to do something to gain the upper hand, and fast.
Percy's senses sharpened further, and he was all at once hyper aware of the water bottle not far from him, aware of the sewers beneath them and aware of the water in Castor's blood being pumped around his body. Percy moved quickly as the sword flashed towards him again, reaching out and pulling and Castor screamed. Percy wasn't quite sure what it was that he'd done, but since the mortal wasn't attacking him any longer and tightened his grip and pulled even harder, forcing everything he had into the action and recalling how he'd felt when he'd realised that Kronos had betrayed him. That everything had been a lie. Percy poured his anger, his hatred and his fear into whatever it was he was doing and he watched curiously as blood first dripped from Castor's nose, his ears, eyes and mouth before becoming streams.
"Percy!-" That was as far as Jason managed to get before Castor spasmed, struggling to breathe as Percy drowned him. It was only when he stopped moving that Percy exhaled, swallowing as he stared at what he'd just done until Castor dissolved and his dust returned to the sky.
Pollux let out a furious yell, shoving Jason aside and charging straight at Percy only to receive an arrow to the side of his neck courtesy of Frank.
Percy didn't even turn to face him, only staring at the spot where Castor had died.
"Percy?" Jason asked carefully. "That… what?"
"Water," Percy said. He wasn't aware that he'd opened his mouth, heard his voice and wanted to know how he'd spoken. "Blood is made of water." He swallowed, his lip trembling and a stark contrast to his steady tone. "I just… pulled." Percy finally turned to look at them, and the horror of Frank's expression made a pit form in Percy's stomach. He felt oddly fragile, as if he could shatter at a moments warning and his gut felt oddly fractured. Percy stared at his hands, hardly believing they were his own. "What's happening to me? What's he done to me?" Percy whispered. The hate, the anger in him wasn't natural, it wasn't him but felt like it was at the same time.
Jason's jaw tightened. "Come on," he said instead of answering Percy's question. "We'd better get back to the others."
So. It's been a while. Between university coursework in nov, dec and the first half jan and then the COVID-19 infection I managed to pick up in the first half of Jan, I've been struggling these past few months. Since this was the first week I had to myself since the beginning of november I thought I'd better use it. So here we are.
I've been wanting this moment for Percy for soo long. No Annabeth this time to appeal to him, so Percy goes all the way and kills the guy with his own blood. It is bad? Yes. Is it fun to explore? Ohhhhh, yes. Very fun.
BooksMeanFreedom: Honestly? There really aren't any Kronercy stories I can name off the top of my head...
Welpisrigh: gods my life's far too busy for one of those XD I write whenever I have the time and the imagination/urge to.
LCPJ.583: Really? I love cliffhangers lol. I'm not gonna spoil what happens, and neither do I know the exact number of chapters XD. But this will go into TOA.
blueinkpens: Ha, I'm not sayingggg. Don't worry, it'll all become clear.
Terrorisk123: Ha, yeah. Hyperion can be a little overprotective XD.
thegoldraven: XD. Gods I love Hyperion and Kronos' relationship, like they're brothers and they kinda hate each other but also like each other bc family lol. Oh yeah, Poseidon hates it lmao. Yes! I've always enjoyed the thought of Krios saying fuck this and just reviving everything in the stars XD.
ghostfall: what? But cliffhangers are fun!
Guest: Yes, yes he was. And... no, I'm spoilling nothing.
Thatgremlinbitch: Ooohhh yeah the Seven know something's up. If you don't know what's happening then I've done my job right XD.
BlueFireRunes: Eh hopefully, but rn they're both too stubborn and hurt to even try to patch things up.
1234booklover: Possibly? You'll have to wait and see.
bellareads4ever: must they? But they're both safer apart...
